


Wattson's Down

by Lobattsonlegends



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, F/F, Hurt No Comfort, One Shot, and yes my friends and i have an hc that mirage crypto and loba are close friends ok, even herself!, everyone hates loba basically, have fun, it's not extreme tho it's just??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:39:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26514577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobattsonlegends/pseuds/Lobattsonlegends
Summary: Truthfully, it’s all her fault. She knew that, and she also knew that the other Legends, rightfully so, weren’t too happy with her at the moment. When she sent them into that place, all she focused on was that artefact piece. All of her hard work up until this point would have meant nothing if they came back empty handed- so she pushed them. Pushed, and pushed, demanding more, not thinking of the consequences of her actions.But then again, has she ever considered consequences before?
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Wattson | Natalie Paquette
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	Wattson's Down

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place during the quest line for season 5 of the game so spoilers if you've never played through that, basically during one of the missions you do wattson goes down and this is the aftermath of that, i just expanded on it to have more of loba's thoughts and feelings at the end :) i basically took out when Revenant shows up and interrupts the conversation and put my own spin on it
> 
> i hope you all enjoy <3

_ Wattson’s down, Wattson’s down, Wattson’s down. _

Those were the only words that echoed in her mind as she paced back and forth at Elliott's bar. Her eyebrows were scrunched in concentration, nail almost down to the nub as she whittled away at it with her teeth. For another brief moment, she continued her movements until someone barged into the bar, the door slamming into the wall and leaving a sizeable dent.

“Where is she?!”

Loba stopped in her tracks. Her body remained still and her eyes unfocused as she lifted a finger to gesture towards the back room. She felt the deadly glare searing into her profile when Ajay barrelled past her towards the room. She opened the door, and without another glance at Loba, banged it shut behind her. Loba grimaced, but composed herself quickly in order to wrap her mind around the situation she found herself in.

Truthfully, it’s all her fault. She knew that, and she also knew that the other Legends, rightfully so, weren’t too happy with her at the moment. When she sent them into that place, all she focused on was that artefact piece. All of her hard work up until this point would have meant nothing if they came back empty handed- so she pushed them. Pushed, and pushed, demanding more, not thinking of the consequences of her actions.

But then again, has she ever considered consequences before?

Loba bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head- at the situation, but more so at herself. When Pathfinder radioed in to inform her of what happened to Natalie, her body reacted so viscerally and harshly that she had to take a seat to compose herself.

When Loba threw herself into the Apex Games and entertained the idea of making “friends” with these Legends, she never actually expected to get attached to anyone. It was dangerous to do so in her line of work, and she had other important matters to deal with, like the artefact. Part of her heart remains locked behind a cage in her chest, titanium bars holding it captive. But, the other part of it had been coaxed out of the cage, slowly but surely by one Natalie Paquette. Maybe it was the way she welcomed her with open arms her first day here, or the way she smiled warmly at her every morning before diving into a match together, or the way she actually seemed to care for her and her struggles, which Loba rarely spoke about but had opened up about bit by bit over these last few months.

Whatever the case, Loba hated to say that Natalie slowly chipped away at her walls. Ones built high and mighty ever since her family was murdered by that _demonio_. Loba clenched her jaw at the thought of him, suppressing a growl in her throat. Natalie tried to get to know her underneath all her snark and flirty remarks, unlike the others that rarely took her seriously. The only other people she considered close to her were Elliott and Crypto, but it was different with Natalie.

It meant something, Loba just didn’t know what yet.

The door to the back room opened, gathering her attention. Elliott stood in the doorway, a sad look on his face when he saw her. She remained stoic as he approached her, his shoulders slumped. It was odd seeing him like this, reserved and shrunk in on himself. She missed the playful banter they would have in moments like these, where humour helped them cope.

“Ajay says she’ll be okay.” Elliot said. He placed his hands on his hips and avoided her eyes, keeping his tone gentle. “Listen, you’re a cool chick, but whatever all these tech pieces end up being for, is it worth all of this?” Elliot looked at her then, and it struck her that he was being the most serious she had ever seen him. She felt a tinge of guilt claw its way down into her stomach, but she pressed it down harshly.

“It is.” She replied. Elliot frowned, but before he could get another word in, more Legends filed into the bar, one by one, starting with Gibraltar and ending with Bloodhound, a noticeable absence from Anita, Octavio, Crypto and Wraith. There were dirty looks sent her way from several of them, save for Bloodhound- their mask prevented it. 

“Yeesh, tough crowd, eh?” Loba smirked at her friend, but Elliott just crossed his arms, an uncomfortable silence settling between them. Loba frowned, but shrugged it off just as quickly, choosing to ignore the ball of disappointment that formed in her churning stomach at the way Elliott looked at her in that moment, with a mix of anguish and disappointment at her actions and the situation. 

“We should go in there.” He responded. With that, he turned from her and walked into the back room, without another look back to her. It stung, but she pushed it away as she decided to follow suit, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her.

Once she shut the door, everyone turned to look at her for a brief moment, before returning their gazes towards Natalie, who lay motionless with her arm dangling off the small cot, peaceful expression on her face. She almost looked like she was only asleep, dreaming about engineering and fences, or whatever scientific things she liked to do and think about.

Loba stalked across the room and stood back in the corner, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and eyes locked on the solemn faces surrounding her. She remained unfazed when Wraith and Octavio appeared in the room, a rift opening and closing to allow them to enter so quickly. Octavio gasped dramatically and shot over to the cot, fretting over his fallen friend while Ajay attempted to calm him.

“What happened?” Wraith asked. She looked at Loba for a brief moment, before letting her eyes wander from face to face, looking for answers. Her eyes were cold and unreadable and Loba raised her chin, clearing her throat.

“We were stationed inside the-”

“Not you. Path, what happened?” Wraith cut her off and turned to Pathfinder now. A flash of annoyance travelled through her at being interrupted, but let it slide as Pathfinder recounted the story.

“We were scoping out the nest. Wattson told us she was going to plant fences. We didn’t realise she went into the building.” He began, robotic hands clasping together. “By the time we got inside, there was nothing to do but be sad.” The face on his chest piece switched from happy to a sad one with a lone tear falling from its left eye. Pathfinder lowered his own head as well. “I’m still sad, friend.”

Loba observed the interaction from the shadowy corner, Wraith noticing how Caustic was watching over Natalie closely, head bowed in respect towards the fallen Legend. Wraith looked questioningly at Pathfinder.

“Not the guy I expected to hold vigil.” Wraith murmured.

“He hasn’t left her side since we got back.” Pathfinder replied.

Loba grimaced at the melancholic tone they both held, their eyes never leaving the still form of Natalie. She sighed, slow and deep, pushing herself off the wall to butt into the conversation finally. She had a goal, and although this was all very sad and terrible, she needed to get everyone back on track before that  _ demonio  _ found out about her plans.

“She’ll make a full recovery. What matters now is finding the other half of the Gemini-”

Next thing she knew, the wind was knocked out of her and her lungs constricted painfully, back slamming into the wall so hard she almost felt her spine crack in two. She clawed at Caustic’s hands around her neck, the man’s viper-like grip surprising her somewhat. She gasped for air but Caustic’s expression remained just as passive as ever, only his eyes behind his gas mask narrowing while gazing into her own.

“Should Ms. Paquette’s condition worsen, you will live out your days so unrecognisable, you’ll beg me for death.” Caustic said. His voice was deep and full of poison, his grip on her neck tightening briefly to sink those words straight underneath her skin, into her veins. He dropped her, then, and she sunk to the floor with an enormous gasp for breath, her hand pressing to her throat where reddish-black marks from his fingers had already begun to form.

Caustic left the room after that. No one moved a muscle to help her, not even Elliott. Loba blinked at the indifference on his face, her heart sinking. She coughed a few times, gulping in air greedily while she raised herself up all on her own, just like she always did.

“Is this all worth it, Loba? All these pieces? This artefact? Is it worth all this suffering?” Wraith asked. Loba steadied herself and raised her eyes to meet Wraith’s. There was a beat of silence among everyone in the room, awaiting Loba’s response. She clenched her jaw and her fist at her side, flashes of her family murdered in front of her, the demon’s glowing eyes and chilling laugh filling her senses.

“It’s everything.” She replied. 

“Why? What is it?” Wraith shot back.

“I already told you. It’s a piece of tech that-”

“I’m not talking about the artefact. I’m talking about the source code. What is it?” Wraith tilted her head, and Loba knew that her reaction was what she was searching for, because her eyes became very curious and interested. Loba’s blood turned cold and her eyes went wide at her question. She opened her mouth to start saying something, only to clamp it shut and shake her head.

“Loba-” Wraith began, only for Anita to interrupt them. When Anita entered, everyone’s eyes shot to her. She glanced around at everyone, lingering on Loba for a second before addressing everyone.

“I need all Legends on deck, right now. Wattson will recover, and we should probably give her time to heal anyway.” Anita said. Ajay whirled around, a protest on her lips, but whatever look Anita sent her caused her to bite her tongue at the request. Loba furrowed her eyebrows, but Ajay nodded. Anita motioned towards everyone to follow her outside, but held a hand up when Loba started to follow as well.

“Not you.” Anita snapped. Loba raised her eyebrows questioningly, feeling curious and slightly hurt. Anita lowered her voice and practically growled when she said, “You’ve done enough, Loba. You and I will talk later, but for now, the people that actually care for Natalie are coming with me.”

Anita left her with those words, and Loba was alone once more, the door to the back room shutting gently when the last Legend left the room. Loba stared at the door for a solid minute. She wasn’t surprised that she was cast out, she was used to being a lone wolf and sticking to her own goals and focusing on herself. It was the whole purpose of this mission, for these pieces, and this artefact.

But, there was something about this specific time that hit her harder than usual. Maybe she was growing to like some of these Legends, more than she cared to admit. And to be pushed aside like that, her mission being put on the back-burner all of a sudden…

Well, fuck them, she thought.

Loba pursed her lips. She slowly flicked her eyes over to Natalie, condition unchanged despite all the chaos. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, and despite her better judgement that told her it was best if she left, she heard her own heels clack against the hardwood floor without warning. She found herself looming over Natalie's form, feeling conflicted while watching her chest rise and fall steadily and deeply.

Loba lowered herself into the chair next to the cot. Her eyes remained on Natalie's peaceful face, the only movement being that of a quirk of her lip or eyebrow as she dreamt of something Loba probably wouldn’t understand. Loba’s head wasn’t screwed on right at that moment, and her thoughts were too wild to pick through and understand any of them.

She played with her bracelet that wrapped around her left wrist absentmindedly, a habit she had trouble breaking ever since she obtained it. It helped keep her grounded and in the present- helped her gather her wits.

“Natalie.” Loba mumbled, as if an utterance of her name from her would wake her immediately. Of course, it didn’t, and Loba cleared her throat awkwardly. She always had trouble being vulnerable, too hardened by her experiences to let people get too close. Natalie got the closest, and now this is what happened to her, all because Loba didn’t think of the consequences. She shook her head.

“Look, I’m sorry.” The words tumbled from her lips, felt foreign on her tongue with the small amount of times she’s actually said them. Natalie didn’t react, of course, but Loba found herself barrelling forward with her one-sided conversation. “I need that artefact, Natalie. You’d understand, right, beautiful?” Loba’s voice lilted at the end. She was used to getting Natalie to blush with her flirty mannerisms, and when nothing happened like usual, Loba felt a small part of her heart crack in her chest. 

Loba sighed and pressed her hand to her forehead, slumped over in her chair.

“You would, and that’s why you’re the best of us.” Loba murmured in a soft tone. “I didn’t mean for this to happen to you. Maybe Anita, or Wraith, but, not you,  _ meu bem _ (my dear).”

Loba raised her head to look at Natalie's soft, serene, beautiful face. Her burn scar was the only blemish on her otherwise smooth skin, and although Natalie confided in her that it made her feel freakish at times, Loba would make sure to reassure her it wasn’t freakish in the slightest. It was pretty bad-ass.

Loba knew it was selfish, and she knew she didn’t deserve it, but she reached out anyway, her hand closing around Natalie's that laid on her stomach. She briefly allowed herself to have this one thing- this soothing, calming, gentle thing that she otherwise would never allow herself to have. It comforted her for the moment, way more than twirling her bracelet ever could.

“Glad you’ll be okay.” Loba said. “Better be quick,  _ meu bem _ . Some of these guys can’t go on without you. They need you.”

_ I need you. _

A crease formed between her brows at her own thoughts, a rush of something unnamed travelling through her body. Loba licked her lips and slowly retraced her hand. It went cold the minute Natalie's warm, soft hand wasn’t surrounding it. Loba looked away from Natalie, down at the floor.

“Anita's wrong, you know.” Loba whispered. “I  _ do  _ care about you.”

Silence.

Loba raised herself from her chair in frustration, running a hand over her face and shaking her head at whatever the hell was going on with her and how she got herself in this mess.

“And that was my mistake.” Loba said.

She clenched her fists so hard her nails left indents into her palms. She decided it would probably be best to leave now, before her frustrations boiled over and she did something she regretted. Loba sighed deeply, and without another glance to Natalie, shuffled her way out of the room, leaving behind one of the only people that understood her.

She had to continue on without Natalie's help, for the time being. The other Legends will help, and it was time to get back on track. She ignored the swirl of pain in her stomach, the crack in her heart and the regret. She had no time for that, so she pushed it down- down, down farther than she ever had before.

Back to business, Loba.


End file.
